Poor suffering farmers - yeah right...

[harm_less]

NZ may have production methods that are less environmentally damaging than other farming countries but we are as remote from most of our potential markets than any country can be so we will always be 'behind the eight ball' in terms of food miles and therefore our advantage will be severely diluted due to that. As the effects of a warming climate make themselves more obvious so will the attitudes of many of our customers harden in respect to their choice of food production and transportation.

I'm wondering if globalisation is just about out the window by now - as events over the last few years have shown there are a lot of risks to individual economies, maybe too many to warrant the perceived benefits to come from it.

If globalisation is "out the window", and I don't disagree with that perspective, then where does it put our dairy industry who produce close to 20 times more milk than our own country's consumption?

"New Zealand produces approximately 21 billion litres of milk every year.  That is approximately 3% of the world milk production or a milk volume equivalent for two and a half serves of dairy per day for 90 million people.  Being the world’s 8th largest milk producer with a population of just five million, we export over 95% of the milk produced in New Zealand, to more than 130 different countries worldwide."

And to make it even worse a large percentage is dried as milk powder at great energy cost and minimal added product value. (See my food miles comment earlier). Is it any wonder the discharges and fertiliser runoff from this industry is our largest carbon emitter?